ASEAN Economic Community 2015: What is

next?
BY Jenny D. Balboa and Ganeshan Wignaraja. POSTED DECEMBER 12, 2014

In 2007, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc adopted
the goal of creating an integrated economic regiontermed the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC)by December 2015. However, concerns have been expressed that
the regional integration projects 2015 deadline will be missed due to an overly
ambitious timeline and too many ill-thought-out initiatives. With the AEC deadline
looming, this article critically assesses the progress that has been made, charts some of
the main challenges, and suggests the next steps for the AEC.
Assessing progress
The AEC projects integrated ASEAN economic region was built on four pillars of
integration: (i) a single market and production base, (ii) a competitive economic region,
(iii) equitable economic development, and (iv) integration with the global economy.
The AEC Blueprint (ASEAN Secretariat 2008), signed by the ASEAN leaders on 20
November 2007 during the 13th ASEAN Summit, serves as its road map. The AEC
Scorecard was formulated to track the progress of the members in implementing the
plans for the AEC.
Notable progress has been made on the AECs first pillar, which is fundamental to
developing a single market and a production base in goods. Tariffs have been
substantially reduced, with more than 70% of intra-regional trade in ASEAN enjoying
zero tariffs, and less than 5% of goods trade being subjected to tariffs of more than
10%. These developments will encourage intra-ASEAN trade in manufacturing and
agricultural goods. Although progress has been made with the signing of mutual

recognition agreements in seven professions, implementation of the trade in services

agreement is much slower. In part, this is linked to the activities of powerful national
service lobbies.
Slow yet steady progress has been seen in realizing the goals of liberalizing investment
and capital flows. The signing of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement in
2012 was an important step in building a better business environment for the private
sector in the region. Moreover, to enhance trade facilitation, the National Single Window
(NSW) program is currently being implemented in the ASEAN-6 countries (Brunei
Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand). The
remaining members are catching up, with Viet Nam and Cambodia having set up their
respective NSW Customs interface. Initiatives to connect the NSWs to the ASEAN
regional portal are also under way and will contribute significantly to reducing trade
costs in the future.
Modest achievements are visible in the second and third pillars of the AEC. Among the
highlights are the adoption of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan 2011
2015 to strengthen intellectual property institutions in the region; the adoption of the
Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity to enhance the regions transport connectivity and
energy security; and the implementation of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Development, which aims to give guidance on the
flagship projects and other SME initiatives in the region to facilitate inclusive growth.
Meanwhile, the implementation of the fourth pillar has progressed well over the past
decade. ASEAN has emerged as the hub of free trade agreement (FTA) activity in Asia
and plays a leadership role in negotiating trade rules for connecting Asia. FTAs have
been concluded with ASEANs six dialogue partners: Australia, the Peoples Republic of
China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. Moreover, negotiations
for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), covering ASEAN and
its dialogue partners, were launched in 2012. If signed and implemented, RCEP will
become the worlds biggest trade bloc, with comprehensive trade rules covering 40% of
world trade, and will provide significant economic gains to members (Wignaraja 2014).
Challenges
While ASEAN has largely attained the goals of the first pillar of the AEC, there are still
remaining issues to be addressed. According to the Global Trade Alert database,

nontariff measures have been rising in the biggest ASEAN economies since the global
financial crisis. From 2009 to 2013, a total of 186 nontariff measures were implemented.
Most of them were applied by the bigger economies: 75 by Indonesia, 39 by Viet Nam,
27 by Thailand, 16 by Malaysia, and 15 by Singapore (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Nontariff Protectionist Measures Implemented in ASEAN, 20092013

ASEAN = Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Lao PDR = Lao Peoples Democratic Republic.
Source: Global Trade Alert database (http://www.globaltradealert.org/, accessed October 2014).

Services trade is also limited due to restrictions in most member economies, with the
exception of Singapore. Based on the World Banks Services Trade Restrictions
Database, the middle-income economies in ASEANIndonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Thailandhave virtually closed to completely closed policy regimes
in mode 4 (professional services). Overall, the services trade regimes in middle-income
ASEAN range from restrictive to virtually closed (Table 1). One difficult outstanding
issue is the legal protection of migrant workers. While ASEAN adopted the Declaration
on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers in 2007, the debate
between sending and receiving countries continues as sending member states push for
a legally binding regional agreement, while receiving countries call for non-legally
binding guidelines. There are also unresolved issues about the definition and contents
of the agreement, which have resulted in a deadlock. Currently, existing bilateral and
regional instruments to regulate services trade are too weak. Developing a strong
regulatory framework remains to be one of the biggest challenges for trade in services
in ASEAN.

Table 1: ASEAN Services Trade Restrictiveness

ASEAN = Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Notes:
Mode 1 = financial services, mode 3 = all subsectors, mode 4 = professional services.
0 = completely open, 25 = virtually open with minor restrictions, 50 = major restrictions, 75 = virtually closed with
limited opportunities to enter and operate, 100 = completely closed.
Source: Services Trade Restrictions Database (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/servicetrade/aboutData.htm, accessed
28 November 2014).

Many of the remaining challenges to realizing the AEC goals are tied to ASEANs ability
to harness cooperation and commitment, and address the development divide among
its members. ASEAN is home to some of the richest (Brunei Darussalam and
Singapore) and poorest (Cambodia, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, and
Myanmar) economies in Asia. Strategies that will narrow the income gap and allow
spillovers from richer, more technologically advanced members to least developed
countries need to be strengthened and sustained. An important step is to develop
modern, high-quality infrastructure that will enhance connectivity within the region. This
will create vast opportunities for connecting markets and improving the physical mobility
of people, goods, and knowledge within the region. Infrastructure investment needs in
ASEAN for the next 2 decades are massive, requiring $60 billion each year until 2022.
The energy and transport sectors make up 63% of the infrastructure needs (KPMG
2014). For Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand alone, a total investment
of $523 billion in power and transport infrastructure is needed until 2020 (Goldman and
Sachs 2013, 45). Close coordination and cofinancing from ASEAN governments, the
private sector, and development banks are important to meet ASEANs infrastructure
financing needs.
What is next?

The AEC project has been crucial for moving ASEAN from its beginnings as a political
grouping in 1967 to becoming one of the most dynamic regional economic blocs in the
developing world. The solidarity and enthusiasm shown by ASEAN members in trying to
meet the AEC goals are notable. Visible progress has been achieved in implementing
the first pillar (particularly in reducing tariffs for goods trade and implementing single
windows for better trade facilitation) and the fourth pillar (in signing regional FTAs for
improved trade rules). However, it seems likely that the December 2015 deadline for
realizing all four pillars of the AEC will be missed. The AEC project will remain a work in
progress for the foreseeable future.
Rather than playing a blame game as to why the deadline will be missed, it will be
useful to do three things during Malaysias chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015: First,
ASEAN members should undertake a quick and dirty but honest stocktaking exercise of
achievements under the AEC project and a short report should be published by the
ASEAN Secretariat. Second, ASEAN members should focus on a few important next
steps for the AEC project and get them done in a reasonable time frame, say by 2020.
In this vein, reducing restrictions on trade in services and monitoring NTMs are priorities
under the first pillar. Financing and implementing a few key infrastructure projects to
reduce development gaps between richer and poorer ASEAN economies is important
under the third pillar. Third, ASEAN members should give serious consideration to
increasing the capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat. A reasonable increase in the ASEAN
Secretariats budget and technical skills seems warranted to support effective
implementation of the AEC agenda. While the AEC project may take longer than
originally envisaged, with sustained cooperation and commitment among ASEAN
economies it will not remain impossible.
_____
References:
ASEAN Secretariat. 2008. ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint. (accessed 28
November 2014).
KPMG. 2014. An Overview of Infrastructure Opportunities in ASEAN. (accessed 28
November 2014).
Goldman and Sachs. 2013. ASEANs Half a Trillion Dollar Infrastructure
Opportunity. Asia Economics Analyst, Issue No. 13/18. (accessed 28 November 2014).

Wignaraja, G. 2014. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: An Initial

Assessment. In P. Petri and T. Guoqiang (eds.) New Directions in Asia-Pacific Economic
Integration, Honolulu: East-West Center. (accessed 28 November 2014).
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